In Állex Leilla's Springtime in the Bones, the city of Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, is as much a character as the novel's two protagonists, Luísa and Michel. Storied. Reticent. Presiding. So timeworn that it is described as only a local would know it, with equal parts awe, scorn, comfort, and annoyance. Luísa, who muses about the rusting, "worm-eaten" sights and the challenges of living in "such an old place", at one point suggests fleeing the city for B

Állex Leilla's groundbreaking novel Springtime in the Bones is replete with musical (as well as literary, filmic, and pop-culture) references. Apart from the monumental challenge posed to me as the translator, this density of allusions created a rich world for the reader to step into and inhabit. Before learning anything else about her, we are provided the protagonist Luísa's CV, in which her reading and listening habits are just as important as her professional background:

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